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Further Remarks at the Organization of American States General Assembly Plenary Session

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Panama City, Panama
June 4, 2007

SECRETARY RICE: It was a very useful discussion of energy, but I think that issues of democracy and the defense of democracy are never inappropriate on an agenda of the Inter-America -- of the Organization of American States, given our Inter-American Democratic Charter. And so the discussion of democracy and its defense should always be a part of our agenda.

Secondly, as to issues in the United States of human rights, of how we fight the war on terror, of the detention of unlawful combatants at Guantanamo, on immigration policy, on any issue, I am quite certain that it would be difficult for any commission to debate more fully, to investigate more fully, to criticize more fully the policies of the United States Government than is done every night on CNN, on ABC, on CBS, on NBC and on any number of smaller channels in the United States. That is the point of press freedom, that in a democracy the citizens of a country should have the assurance that the policies of their government will be held up for criticism by a free and independent press without the interference of their government. The citizens of the United States have that assurance. I sincerely hope that the citizens of Venezuela will have that assurance as well.

Thank you very much.

2007/T10-2



Released on June 4, 2007

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